Why There Will Be a Resurrection of the Body
Why There Will Be a Resurrection of the Body
Many saints have had an experience in which their body either approached death or else was actually dead for a brief space of time. During the period of near death, or death, they experienced some of the beauty and joy of the spirit realm. Also, Sundar Singh of India and other Christians have had visions of Heaven in which they saw the beauty of Paradise, the Lord Jesus, the angels, and deceased loved ones and friends.
Most of such visions of Heaven are similar and give the reader a sense of peace and joy and a longing to pass from this world into the next, there to enjoy freedom from dread and pain.
To go to Heaven, to the Paradise of God, has been the hope of Christians throughout the centuries. The thought of being lifted into the perfect world has served as a hope that has spurred the disciples to greater diligence and has comforted the dying and their relatives.
Who wouldn't want to go to Heaven?
When we contemplate how marvelous the spirit Paradise is, how desirable, we begin to wonder why the Lord Jesus has promised to raise our body from the grave.
We understand that we go to Paradise when we die, and it is not at all necessary for the Lord to raise our body in order for us to go to Paradise.
If Paradise is all our heart could desire, and if we do not need to be brought back to life in order to get there, what, then, is the purpose of the resurrection of our physical body from the grave?
We know from the writings of Paul that the resurrection of the physical body is the central hope of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (I Corinthians 15:19,20)
It is clear from the fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians that Paul viewed the resurrection of our body from the grave as the central hope of the Gospel, the hope upon which all else depends.
Paul's emphasis on the resurrection of our body from the grave reveals that the purpose of salvation is to restore our body to life.
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. (I Corinthians 15:18)
Today we would say of believers that if they have fallen asleep (died) in Christ they are with the Lord in Heaven.
Paul said of believers that if they have fallen asleep they have perished, unless they are to be raised again in the body.
We see from this that the current emphasis on Heaven as our goal rather than the resurrection of our body is not scriptural.
But again we ask the question: If the spirit Paradise is marvelous beyond our most extravagant dreams, and indeed it is, what, then, is the purpose of raising us from the dead?
Obviously we are raised from the dead so we can live once more on the earth. But why take the trouble to redeem the earth? Why not permit us to enter the spirit Paradise where we can dwell in bliss forever?
There is only one possible answer. The redeemed earth will be a more joyous, more loving, more satisfying, more wonderful environment than ever could be true of the spirit Paradise. Even Satan must have felt this way and left the spirit realm in order to walk about in the earth.
And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. (Job 1:7)
When God emerged from the spirit realm and brought forth the material realm He pronounced it very good. The material realm is very good, as far as mankind is concerned. The spirit realm is very good for the angels. The material realm is very good for mankind.
Rebellious spirits entered the material realm and brought corruption and death into it. The world of today is an abominable environment, not because the physical realm is bad of itself but because of the evil spirits that inhabit it.
Our Redeemer has come to drive the evil spirits from the material realm so the earth once again may be a wonderful garden.
We must possess a physical body if we are to aid the Lord Jesus in driving out the evil from the earth and rebuilding that which has been destroyed. Also, physical bodies are necessary for all saved peoples if they are to enjoy their future life on the earth.
The Kingdom of God is Heaven wrapped in flesh and bones.
This is why there will be a resurrection from the dead. We shall be raised in order that we may dwell on the redeemed earth—an infinitely superior environment when compared with the spirit Paradise, as marvelous as the spirit Paradise is.
We are to lift up our heads. The Kingdom of God is coming to the earth. God's will shall be done in the earth as it is in Heaven.